​
ENGLAND NETBALL MEMBERSHIP CHANGES – IMPORTANT
We want to make sure that everyone is aware of the upcoming changes as part of the way their membership scheme is changing, as it is quite significant and places much more emphasis on the individual member rather than the Club to administrate this on behalf of players. It is crucial because people won’t be able to take to court in September unless they are paid up members! At this stage, we only have limited information and have seen a quick demo, so we don’t have a detailed understanding to support members yet!

England Netball are changing the current Mynet system, to a new system, which will be called Engage. Members must pay their own membership fees on the England Netball website by card or an annual direct debit can be set up. In the coming weeks, we need to get all our members, athletes, volunteers, parents, umpires and coaches to double check their own existing information is correct on the old Mynet system, especially e mail addresses. Everyone will also need to change their password. This is preliminary work so that everyone is set up ready to pay their own membership in July/August.
Here is the timeline!

-       In MAY England Netball will send an e mail to players registered Mynet e mail address, introducing everyone to ENGAGE (the new system)
-       Parents and non-affiliated volunteers will need to visit the website via a link in the e mail, search for our club and create an account for themselves NOT the child as the child already has one. This creates a list of PEOPLE associated with our club, often the child and parent e mail address will be the same if the parent is responsible for the child’s Mynet. We think this may mean that in future you will receive two e mails one for the child and one for the parent.
-       There are some amazing prizes for clubs and individuals who have completed the check and change on MYNET before the beginning of June so please do it as soon as you receive the email!
-       In JULY/AUGUST our members will be able to buy their own memberships from their own new ENGAGE area on the website. We assume there will be a series of prompts, and we hope to be able to guide members through this new process!

LET’S HAVE SOME FUN!
We have a couple of upcoming opportunities for match play in advance of trials starting. These are both at Leeds Beckett, 8-10pm on a Thursday, and are £4 per session to pay and play.  
-       We will have some matchplay for members in U14 through to seniors on 30th May.
-       We will have some matches between players/parents/grandparents on 6th June.
For now, let Susie know if you’re interested. We recognise that lots of people won’t make this because of exams, but it is there if anyone wants a break.  

RIBBLE VALLEY TOURNAMENT
We’re delighted that we have quite a few teams taking part on the RVNC tournament this coming weekend, let’s keep our fingers crossed for decent weather! Good luck everyone and please keep us posted on social media! Our U14s Nationals Squad are in their final stages of preparation for their tournament at the end of the month, and our U12s are only a month or so away from their Regional Tournament in Sheffield. Busy times! Good luck to everyone trialling for franchise teams ready for the Summer Tournament.

Leeds Athletic Netball Club
www.leedsathleticnetballclub.org.uk
@LeedsAthleticNC

​Lots of Netball going on for some of our athletes!

A great weekend last weekend, with our U14s in the Eng Cup, collecting bronze and our U12 and U19s in tournaments and doing well. Follow on Social Media for the best round up!

Another superb weekend this weekend, with our awesome U16s at Club Nationals in Essex all weekend. A total of 7 games played, and only lost two, resulting in an excellent 4th position. Massive achievement for these athletes and coaches, but also for the parents who were supporting. Making lifetime memories and being amongst the best in the country. There are lots of reports on Social Media for the detail, but we are very proud of these athletes and coaches, many of these players now move into seniors!

Here’s wishing out Year 13s the best of luck as they head close to A’ Levels and our Year 11s the best of luck as they head close to GCSEs. Good luck to others studying and well done to those who handed their dissertations in recently! Here’s another good luck message for all our injured athletes as well. Not easy, especially for those with big injuries, but trust that you are always in our minds and that we wish you the speediest (and sustained) recovery.

Don’t forget to ask your Age Group Admin about tickets for the end of season awards evening! And Summer training will be available for our part in the Big Summer of Netball to highlight the excitement of the world cup!  Make sure you're watching Superleague on Sky or the You Tube Channel, plus the Suncorp League has started as well! 

For those interested in getting into helping at Club, here are some course details, there are other roles available, just ask Susie!   

Officiating Courses
C Award 
Date: Sunday 2nd June 2019 
Timings: 09:00 – 15:00
Venue: Woodhouse Grove School, Apperley Bridge, Bradford, BD10 0NR
Go to the website for more information http://www.netballwestyorkshire.co.uk/umpire-courses.html
 
Coaching Courses
UKCC Level 1
When: 14 September & 13th October 2019
Where: Barnsley College
Time: 9am – 6pm
Cost: £190 affiliated; £230 non-affiliated
Visit https://www.englandnetball.co.uk/coaching/ukcc-coaching-courses/ to find out more and to book
 
Save the Date:
14 -15 September, 19-20 October & 10 November UKCC Level 2 – TBC

​So the last couple of league matches were played today both rearranged due to leaking roofs! 

First up were the U16 West Yorkshire squad playing Huddersfield Giants (2). Our girls took a brilliant win 35-14 making them undefeated, well deserved winners of the U16 West Yorkshire League. A massive achievement given most of the other teams are 1st teams. Well done to Maggie and Susie for their coaching and to all parent helpers. The U16A continue their nationals prep. U14s continue their Nationals prep and U12 continue to prepare for regionals and tournaments.  

The Northern girls also had a convincing win 61-27 against Hull Chevrons giving them a final placing of second in this tough league. As usual, this was a well contested game, but our squad kept their composure and played some great netball! Huge thanks to Jan for all her work with this vary varied squad this season, good luck to all our injured players. Mixed emotions at the end with a few of these girls going off to University next season after playing for Leeds Athletic for many years. 

Good luck to all our year 13 athletes during the upcoming exam period. We wish those leaving Leeds all the best for the future. Best of luck to our year 11 athletes preparing for GCSEs as well! 

Our Final WY Senior Game was cancelled because the team couldn’t field a squad, this means we finish a very respectable 3rd in that league. Well done to all our athletes competing in this squad. Thanks to Jo for coach and admin. 

Well done to our current players featuring in U21 closing weekend at Worcester. Good luck to those competing in the U19 closing weekend in Birmingham next weekend. 

Some of our youngsters featured in the Rhino Mini Festival yesterday, plus a number of our coaches. Great to see so many smiling faces and such enthusiasm for the game, well done to everyone involved. If you haven’t booked Rhinos Camps yet, here is the link: http://www.leedsrhinosnetball.co.uk/camps/ Our youngsters were practising ready for tournaments this morning! 

Don’t forget you need to get your trials application in, click on the link below https://webservices11.wufoo.com/forms/lanc-trials-application-201920

​Remember to stay tuned into netball through Sky or now with some games offered on YouTube, plus listen to the Netball Nation Podcast with our own Maggie! 

Have a good break over Easter. 

Leeds Athletic Netball Club
www.leedsathleticnetballclub.org.uk
@LeedsAthleticNC

PERFORMANCE

Prem and Senior Regional leagues were completed last week. Northern have one match left next weekend, a rearranged one against Chevrons. This weekend should have marked the end of the season for Junior West Yorkshire and Regional matches, however due to a leaking roof in a previous week the U16s still have a match in the West Yorkshire League next Sunday. For the same reason our U14 West Yorkshire team played two matches today.

Our U16 Regional team came out with purpose to win 62-9 against Sheffield Stormers, not surprising really with shooters on 91%. They remain in first position unbeaten all season and taking top spot in the league with a place at National finals on May Day weekend. In a similar fashion the U14s forged on 47-27 against Sheffield Concord to claim the league winners title with an unbeaten record and a place at National finals at the end of May. We wish these squads the best of luck as they head into final preparations for national competitions, and we will be looking to support you at the end of April and the end of May respectively.

An early start for the U16 West Yorkshire squad an 8.30am meet which was really 7.30am!! Still smiles all round with a 39-20 win against Shipley placing them at the top of the league with one match to go. Great performance in the top WY league.  Later in the day our U14 West Yorkshire girls beat YMCA 3 and Shipley, 45-11 and 37-30 respectively although the second match was much closer than the final scoring suggests.  Excellent results!

Our Littlies were in action again Hi5 (1) playing Terrier Tots resulting in a frustrating 7-8 loss after being ahead in the first three quarters. These guys have done so well though given their ages!
Hi5 (2) played Wakefield Phoenix (2) losing 14-1 but still smiling at the end. Lots of learning here for these young netballers.

Earlier in the week our young, mostly U14 Netball Nights team had a closely fought match against. Victorious Secrets narrowly losing 26-30, but learning how to improve their game in this adult league.

On Saturday our West Yorkshire Seniors had a harsh encounter against Shipley, who fielded an experienced team including ex Superleague players, but our young squad (with a few very experienced players) clung to the lead winning by 2 goals, 46-44. One more match next week for this group.

Well done to all our athletes attending the Rhinos day of netball at Yok Uni on Saturday, not the NPL U19 or U15 Academy result we wanted, but a good win for Rhinos U17s vs Thunder Futures, and some great learning for the U13 group being coached by Anna Carter and the Hub athletes having a great tournament. Super support for the NPL game, showing the demand for netball in Yorkshire. Let’s keep those fingers crossed that Rhinos can secure a Superleague spot as soon as possible. Well done to other athletes competing in other franchise age groups and to our former athletes in the Birmingham Uni squad who were in the BUCS finals!
As ever, huge thanks to all our coaches and team admins, some great reports on Facebook each week, and some lovely photographs as well. 

TRIALS
LANC - Trials Application 2019/20 will be open in the next day or so, there will be a TRIALS tab on the website. We will send you the link and put on Social Media. Here are the dates and closing date information:

• Seniors - (school yr 12 and above in Sept 2019) trials on 4/7 - 8-10pm - closing date 27/6
• Under 16s – (school yr 10 &11 in Sept 2019) trials on 13/6 - 8-10pm – closing date 6/6
• Under 14s – (school yr 8 & 9 in Sept 2019) trials on 20/6 and 27/6 8-10pm – closing date 13/6 athletes to attend both sessions.
• Under 12s - (school yr 7 in Sept 2019) trials on 30/6 9am-12 noon - closing date 23/6
• Under 11s don’t trial as such, but do have selection in early September, within their training sessions to determine which players train on a Tuesday or Sunday.

A final message for our injured players, and we have quite a few at various stages of recovery. We all wish you the very best, follow advice, work hard, and stay in touch with your team mates, we look forward to welcoming you back soon. Take care, we appreciate it is very hard. 

Thanks 

PERFORMANCE
On Wednesday our Netball Nights team beat Thundercats 25-15 in a rearranged game to tie up the winter league. Thanks to player coach Libby Hodgkiss for providing support, advice and encouragement for our young team of mainly U14 year olds in this senior league.

The West Yorkshire Seniors had an impressive win 56-40 up against Wakefield Wildcats, two more games to go in this league and in contention at the top of the Superleague division.

Massive congratulations to our Senior Yorkshire Regional squad who have won the league, taking the win against Harrogate Phoenix 63-38. Then reliant on third place Hallam to beat first place Sheffield Stormers in the following match, it was a tense wait. Good for us Hallam won, Leeds took top spot, now in second place Stormers still go through to Northern league as LANC do not qualify, each club are only allowed one team in Northern League. This season the Regional league squad has consisted of players mainly aged 14 to 18, up against the best senior teams in Yorkshire. Well done to coach Susie Stead for directing this team to be league champions!

Still with Seniors our Prem one side beat local rivals Grangetown 53-40 at home, Leeds Beckett University. A great finish to the season, safely staying in the top flight of netball league. Massive thanks to Francine as player coach and Jane who has been primary carer and organiser. Thanks also to those who have scored and timed for games, and those who have driven to away games.

The U16 Regional team continued their winning streak with a 23-45 win against Sheffield Concord their place in Nationals now confirmed, and remaining unbeaten with a crazy goal difference!

Our U14 Regional team also won confirming their Nationals place. Beating Dronfield 61-10, again unbeaten, well done all!

In the West Yorkshire league our U16s had a close win 30-29, up against Yorkshire Terriers, finally coming down to a penalty after the final whistle, just like the Commonwealth Games Final. Not great for the nerves on a Sunday morning, but big well done!

Sadly at 26-34 it was a loss for the U14 West Yorkshire team playing Wakefield Wildcats, however they will remain top of the league above Wildcats on a significant goal difference with two matches to play.

A win v Huddersfield Giants for our U12(1) in their last game of the season coming top of their league, clear winners with a goal difference of an amazing 335. U12(2) have done brilliantly to come second in the same league. Massive congratulations to both teams and coach John Hipshon. Thanks for all the background work Kathryn.

The U12(2) played U12(3) today resulting in a 20-12 win to the 2nds. Loads of effort from both sides in a match played with great spirit.

Hi 5(1) had a good outing against YMCA(2), it was a close one final outcome 9-11 to YMCA. Lots of improvement in recent weeks, well done everyone. Hi5(2) lost 13-8 to Twinkles but more goals being scored each match, the girls were fantastic and are getting better week by week. Thanks to all helpers in this league. Super to see the photos and match results posted on FB.
​
Trial dates will be announced soon. Most will be in June. Watch this space. 

​PERFORMANCE 
For Seniors we only had a Northern game this week, the girls were facing local rivals Shipley Swifts at home. Tired legs for some, with five players having played the previous day at National Schools Finals, still managing to grind out a win 52-43. Tough one for Jan to coach, but well done!

Massive congratulations to our U16 Regional squad who despite several injuries have made it through to National Finals (unless anyone else scores 347 goals in their next two matches), beating Ripon Rockets 56-16. Countdown begins! Let’s go Leeds. Still on a winning streak the U14 Regional squad beat Kingston 60-20, next week will be the deciding game as to qualification for their National Finals. 

Lots of injuries in our U16 West Yorkshire squad this week, wishing you speedy recoveries. Special shout out to players who played out of position and did an awesome job to secure a win. Final score 34-15 against YMCA (2).  Super performances from the U14 West Yorkshire team playing YMCA (2) they were in control of the game from the outset eventually winning 40-20. The only U12 league team playing this week was U12(4) who showed great skill and teamwork losing only narrowly to Huddersfield Giants 8-11. 

Our Hi5ers were out battling away against a much bigger and older Huddersfield Giants, but sounds like they won the admiration of the umpires and opposition supporters with their attitude and ability. Well done girls think you win the fair play award this week, just what the league is asking for- so proud of you all. Hi 5(1) faced Huddersfield Giants. Hi5(2) scoring the most amount of goals in a match so far, well done girls. Eventual outcome 11-15 to Terrier Tots. 
A mixed team of U12 A and B travelled to Hull to play a friendly against Chevrons U13 the older team coming out on top 22-12, but lots of learning. Thanks to coach John Hipshon arranging friendly competitions on non-league fixture days.

SCHOOLS & COLLEGES
Well done to all the Yorkshire Schools who qualified, no mean feat. It was a tough day, very windy and gusty! We had athletes competing for Yorkshire Schools and North West Schools. Everyone had a mixed set of results in the rounds, with some really closely contested games across only 7 mins each way! Only GSAL U19s made it out of their group from the Yorkshire representatives, and this squad has plenty of our current and former players in it. They won the semi-final against a strong Bromsgrove side, but lost in the final to Worthing College. Proud to take the silver medal at a National Competition, well done!  

Bishop Burton, with lots of our players and former players, won their Semi in the national competition and will now meet Worthing College in the final, good luck!

LOOKING AHEAD
We are getting close to the season end, but let’s finish these well! Prem play Grangetown at home this Sunday, come and support if you can! 11:30 Beckett. Senior Regional have their final game and could be crowned champions. There are important Regional Juniors and WY Junior games.
​
AND FINALLY
A big thank you message to all our coaches and helpers, and to parents for driving everywhere! And, a big best wishes message to our injured players, we have plenty of recent injuries as well as some longer standing ones. It is tough when you can’t do what you love, but stay strong and follow advice and we look forward to seeing you back as soon as possible.
 
Leeds Athletic Netball Club
www.leedsathleticnetballclub.org.uk
@LeedsAthleticNC

​An update about performance, the usual update about wider netball, and a very important message from colleagues who run the West Yorkshire Junior Netball League on our behalf. Please ensure you read the bottom of the message. And also keep in touch with injured team mates to make sure they're ok!

A busy Sunday of fixtures, although some unfortunately postponed because of leaks in roofs! The U16s and U14s both played against Malton U14s and U16s in their sixth match of the Junior Yorkshire Regional League. Convincing wins for both teams 14s 58-16 and 16s 68-11. Three more games each to play in this league, two more wins will confirm a place in National Club Finals where the best 18 teams in the country play tournament netball over two days.  It is getting exciting! The U16 and U14 West Yorkshire teams had their games postponed due to a leak in the ceiling at Huddersfield University.

Birkenshaw Belles U12 will have slept well coming up against our super U12(1) who beat them 66-3 which might be a league record! Belles were positive and didn’t give up though, so credit to them.  U12(2) played YMCA coming out with a resounding 21-13 win. The U12(3) faced Huddersfield Giants (1) resulting in a narrow loss of two goals. A very smart photo on Facebook of our U12(4) team today despite their loss 14-8 to Yorkshire Terriers.  These photos are setting new standards! In Hi5 an experienced YMCA team turned up to beat our Hi5(2) 30-2 keep trying girls. The Hi5 (1) girls played Twinkles losing 7-10 – but let’s remember these athletes are young!

Moving into seniors, there was an excellent win for our Senior Regional team comprising of players all 18 and under who beat Sheffield Open 52-44. Lots of experience on their side versus agility and speed on ours. Superb achievement, leaving us second in the table with one game to play and all to play for, let’s go! The Northern squad travelled to the East coast to play Hull Chevrons but were thwarted by another leaking sports hall as the match was called off by the umpire due to safety concerns. Two games left and in second place in the league. Finally our Prem Squad had a very early start and facing a very strong Turnford side and only coming up 7 goals short. Importantly though, our Prem squad have secured enough points to stay up in Prem 1 for next season, which is excellent.

Wider netball update

Lots going on as usual! Some of our former players preparing for important BUCS Semi Finals this week. Looks an interesting draw and should be some good games. Plenty to follow in Superleague and Australia/NZ as there is a build up to the World Cup.  Quite a few of our players are preparing for National Schools Finals this weekend, in Hertfordshire, let’s hope that the weather improves and we don’t add to our injury tally!

Rhinos U19 squad, which had ten of our players in it on Saturday, notched up an excellent win against Mavericks. In possibly an unprecedented situation, the Rhinos vs Mavs one goal win in December was disallowed because of an error in the scoring. Despite an appeal, Rhinos had to replay the game last weekend, so it was a high stakes game. Rhinos played well and secured a nine goal victory, which was a great result and leaves Rhinos 4th in the table. Good luck to those in NPL comps this next few weeks at u19 and U21.


IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM WYJNL COLLEAGUES

We are putting this message out literally as it has been sent to us, given its importance. Coaches will talk to athletes about this at sessions this week, and there will be a reminder on Facebook. This advice does tie in with our code of conduct in our handbook, and the images in there, here is a link: https://www.leedsathleticnetballclub.org.uk/club-info.html

Dear Club Contacts
 
The WYJNL Committee are constantly working to improve the development of netball in our County.  As we are all involved in clubs ourselves we are aware of the challenges you face with not only developing players technically and tactically but also in educating players, team officials/bench players and parents/supporters on acceptable and unacceptable behaviours on match day.  We appreciate you as Club leads may not always be at matches and this could mean match day responsibilities may fall on others involved in your clubs. 
 
Respecting umpires is not a request it is essential.   Below is some important information that we need you to share with your players, team officials/bench players and parents/supporters.  Further information and more details can be found in the INF rule book 2018 Edition.
 
1.       Players on court are expected to respond to rulings made by the umpires and adjust their play accordingly.   Please remind players;
a.       A caution (followed by a penalty) is the umpire advising a player that the behaviour specified must change. 
b.      A player who does not change her behaviour after a caution will be issued with a warning.  Warnings may be given even if no caution has been issued.
c.       A suspension of 2 minutes will follow a warning if the behaviour specified doesn’t change.  In the case of dangerous play or misconduct a player may be suspended without a warning if the umpire considers the action justified.
d.      A player who is ordered off will take no further part in the match.  While this normally follows a suspension or warning this is not prerequisite if the umpire considers such action is justified.
 
2.       Team Officials and Bench Players must not;
a.       Criticise the umpires or their decisions.
b.      Use offensive, insulting or abusive language and/or gestures.
c.       Use excessive noise or interruption.
d.      Encourage foul play by on-court players.
 
Team officials and bench players can be given a Caution, Warning and umpires can give an Order for the person’s removal from the playing enclosure.
 
The WYJNL insist that parents/supporters must not approach the umpire during or after a fixture however a player with a coach or captain can approach the umpire at quarter times for clarification.

PHOTOGRAPHY/VIDEO

As a further issue, please be reminded that photography and videos including the opposition are not allowed unless prior permission has been granted by the opposition, both umpires and the league. At least one week notice must be given to allow the necessary communication to be made.  As parents and players all you have to do is ask Susie Stead or your team admin to obtain the permissions for you, that is one e mail. Please do not cause embarrassment by turning up with your camera on the day and expect to be given the go ahead. 

And finally, some of these things might seem onerous or condescending, but they are usually there for good reason, such as safeguarding or recruiting and retaining volunteers. If clubs don’t comply with these expected standards, then teams could lose points or be asked to leave leagues. Sorry!


Leeds Athletic Netball Club
www.leedsathleticnetballclub.org.uk
@LeedsAthleticNC

​Before we start with performance this week, let's just give a shout out to our injured players. We are sending best wishes to you guys for a speedy and sustained return to the court and the Club. 

Performance this week, some of which can also be found on Facebook! Thank you to people putting up reports!

Let’s start with our fabulous U12 (1) team who travelled to High Wycombe on Saturday to pitch themselves against the best in the country, competing in the ENG Sports UK National Finals. They started a little slowly with a 5-8 loss to Matrix NC. They put up a hard fight against eventual runners up, Turnford losing 5-6 following a disallowed goal! The final group match was v Parkside a convincing 8-0 win. Through to the play offs they met old rivals, Kingston Phoenix who had previously beaten them in the Regional heat our girls won 8-2. Through to the quarter finals v mighty Tameside who were in a league of their own, so they had to accept defeat 2-16 to the eventual winners of the Tournament.

Overall, a massive achievement to make the quarter finals of this National competition. The girls had the most amazing experience and it really brought them closer as a team.  Really proud of you girls clearly in a tough group initially. Many thanks to our dedicated and experience coach John Hipshon the driving force behind the U12s, to our team admin Kathryn Dyer and our brilliant parents. 

Also on Saturday our West Yorkshire Seniors had a rare loss 36-43,to Harrogate Phoenix.  

It was a great win for our Netball Nights team on Wednesday 25-17 against Farsley Celtic, this talented junior team supported by coach Libby Hodgkiss are holding their own in this adult league. 
On Sunday the club had nine fixtures. 

A big game for our Prem team against Worcester Reds placed one position below us in the league but it was a storming LANC side who were clear winners taking the match 58-42. A close game to begin with, but the squad pulling away in 3rd quarter. Well done everyone.

Again in Seniors the super speedy Northern girls ensured a win against Oaksway the final score was 52-37. Oaksway didn’t give up and came back in last quarter, but we had a big enough lead.

In the U16s the West Yorkshire squad continued their winning ways with a tough match against YMCA (1) resulting in a 23-23 draw, so the league positions remain the same with Leeds in first and YMCA with second place for now and four games to go. The U14s West Yorkshire squad beat Yorkshire Terriers, starting off really strong and ending 31-17.
There were three U12 teams playing today in the West Yorkshire League. Firstly our ENGU12 quarter finalists U12(1) pushed equal first in the league Wakefield Wildcats(1) and posted an amazing 40-10 score against them, then went to Pizza Express to celebrate. The U12(2) hoping to hold on to their third position in the league behind LANC(1) and Wakefield Wildcats(1) took the game to Wakefield Phoenix(1) and won 8-3. The U12(3) v Birkenshaw Belles (1) had a great win 25-6. lots of things finally came together and they worked as a fantastic team. Thanks to coach Becky Hewson helping these young athletes in a tricky U12 league. 

Our Hi5 girls were pitched against each other this week, it was exciting but tense pre match. The final result was 19-3 to LANC(1) but there was some great play and super teamwork from both sides. 

Looking ahead, busy one next weekend, all three senior teams are in action on Sunday, plus Junior Regional games and lots of Junior WY games too.

Great to see so many of our athletes on the pitch at Rhinos for the opening game at the new stadium. New activities announced including Shooting Workshop with Dan Ryan, Camps and Masterclasses. Get booked on via the website if you want to improve your game. Recommend Hubs and Minis to friends! 

Hope some of you managed to get to the Netball Europe competition at Huddersfield this weekend, sounds like a great tournament. 

The Sky game on TV tmrw features our former player Lucy Harris in the Stars side! 
Leeds Athletic Netball Club
​
www.leedsathleticnetballclub.org.uk
@LeedsAthleticNC

​U12 – National Finals of ENG Netball Cup

Leading today with a focus on our U12s, who head to High Wycombe on Saturday 2 March to compete in the National finals of the ENG Netball Cup.  Their journey began back in December where they played in the Regional qualifier in Manchester.  The girls came up against some tough opposition in Manchester including teams from Tameside, Trafford and Kingston. 

Their opening match saw them losing 3:13 to a dominant Tameside.  This was a new experience for the girls who had not met such strong players before.  They knuckled down to win their next matches 12:0 against Knutsford, 4:3 against Trafford and 9:1 against our own B Team.  This saw them through to the quarter finals where they met Headlanders.  This was a nail biting match where the girls showed steely determination coming back from 2:5 down to win 8:7 in extra time.  Next up was the semi-final where we played a strong Kingston Team.  We lost by one turnover 3:5 and then played Trafford for 3rd/4th place.  We had previously beaten this team in the earlier rounds but unfortunately conceded a loss this time 6:8 which meant we qualified for the National Final in 4th place. 

This was a great achievement for this then inexperienced team and we took a lot of positives from this experience.  Since then we have had some excellent training sessions, brilliant league wins and some challenging friendlies, including playing our own U13s in order to help prepare for the National Finals.  The girls are ready to put their best foot forward as we head to High Wycombe next weekend.  Our group matches will see us play Matrix NC, Turnford and Parkside.  Good luck to John and the girls, we look forward to your updates on Twitter throughout the day – thanks to Kathryn for all her work with this squad and thanks to parents for their support and encouragement. Be proud to wear that Black and Blue guys and enjoy this experience of national level netball at such a young age – amazing experience! 
​
Team selected for the final is the full A Team squad:-
Deeya, Amelia, Penny, Madison, Izzy, Lucy, Elle, Sadie, Grace, Freya, Charley-Megan

Results

It was a nail biting match for the supporters of our young netball nights team, who came away with a one goal win against Koalas, final score 27-26. Great experience closing out a game girls, well done. On Saturday our West Yorkshire Seniors faced Leeds Lightning it was a battle 16-16 at half time but  in the end it was another win 34-29. Prem were out on Sunday away to Premier Romans, our young squad, some of whom had played in the Rhinos first home NPL match the day before, travelled south to Bristol and stole the points in a 51-48 win. The Northern athletes faced Hi Tech who always provide a physical contest. Our girls pulled out all the stops but just fell short with a 41-42 loss. The U14 and U16 Regional teams were playing in Barnsley on their road to National Club Finals. Both teams won, U14 v Chevrons 54-16 and U16 v Kingston 70-12.  Both of the opposing teams were placed second in the league behind LANC before this fixture so the results were crucial. It’s looking good for both teams to achieve their ambition of reaching the National Club Finals on 4/5th May at Redbridge Leisure Centre for the U16s and 25/26th May at the University of Worcester for the U14s. See FB for more updates, and thanks to our team admins who post these!

Wider Netball stuff

We’ve had lots of athletes in representative stuff, with NPL and GB Colleges team in recent weeks. This weekend saw a great day for Rhinos Netball, just seven months in from securing formal delivery of the Pathway. It was a great victory for the NPL squad, with well over half the athletes from Leeds Athletic, and the starting seven all Leeds Athletic players. Playing Severn Stars, the girls won 61-43 in front of a super crowd in the first ever league game in Leeds! We also had players in the U15 festival and the Minis Demo as well, both of which were great for the athletes. Minis were ball girls, plenty of our coaches were involved, and there was also a meeting with County coaches about the Pathway for next year.

Get listening to Netball Nation podcast, with our very own Maggie Birkinshaw. Last week saw Anna Carter, with Erin and Lucy, on Radio Leeds, talking all things netball and the ambition to bring Superleague back to Yorkshire! Plenty of our athletes are also preparing for National Schools Finals mid-March.
 
Netball Europe U17 competition is on in Huddersfield this coming weekend, and the athletes from the home nations would appreciate support I am sure. Regrettably, we don’t have any of our own athletes appearing in this competition this year, thought we have loads of our former athletes playing in the various VNSL teams and in u21 competition as well.

We will be submitting our response to the Yorkshire Netball review of competition this week, so if anyone has any burning ideas for improvement, please let us know. 

Looking ahead

See above the the main event for Club with our U12 next weekend, plus Netball Nights on Wednesday and WY on Saturday! Prem and Northern on Sunday, plus a range of Junior WY games. No Regional Junior or Senior games next weekend. Plenty of NPL action over the weekend, including Rhinos vs Mavericks in U19. 

Get involved

As a club, we still need more umpires! Talk to Louise/Susie if you fancy, c'mon, dads make great umpires as well as mums!  

Leeds Athletic Netball Club
www.leedsathleticnetballclub.org.uk
@LeedsAthleticNC

​Fewer results than normal, but plenty of other netball stuff to update you with.
Some great results in friendlies this weekend for our U12 and U14 against Grangetown and a travelling school team. These sounded like fun too!

We’re well into the Superleague season now, and the NPL U19/21 season. We have plenty of our athletes playing and some good results coming through for teams featuring our athletes. Follow the various franchises on Twitter and Facebook for the best updates.

Big weekend for Rhinos U19 Squad next weekend, first ever home game in Leeds. Let’s get as many supporters there as we can to show that we’re interested in netball and that we want a Superleague squad back here! Tickets are just £3.00, available on this link, it is a great way for younger athletes to learn, and the squad will feature plenty of our own athletes! 
http://www.leedsrhinosnetball.co.uk/events/nplh2/
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Yorkshire Netball are reviewing the competition structure in place for juniors and adults, to see what improvements can be made. If anyone is interested in contributing to our response, please emailleedsathleticnetballclub@gmail.com
Your local team admin will let you know about training for half term, most groups are training, especially seniors who have a busy fixtures card next weekend, along with another Regional Game each for U14/U16 in their quest to qualify for the all-important Club Nationals!

We always try and run two Netball Nights Teams during the summer League – April-October – which give younger athletes an opportunity to play with more experienced athletes. However, we need parent volunteers to step in and run these. Any volunteers, please let Mark know on maboocock@sky.com

Thanks


Leeds Athletic Netball Club
www.leedsathleticnetballclub.org.uk
@LeedsAthleticNC